I hosted a dinner party yesterday. Preparing for it was nerve-wracking because I’m not the most confident of cooks. I haven’t cooked often enough to know when something looks, smells, or feels done. Should the bacon be smoking before I remove it from the burner? I learned that it shouldn’t. Oh, Robert, dear, would you like a plate of carbon? I made it myself! The logistics of preparing a well-balanced meal taxed me severely. How do you know when to cook what? or how much time each item will require? How do you save face when your kitchen fills with fire and brimstone? I warned everyone that we might be ordering take-out if any major disasters occurred. They laughed, but I was 100% serious. I served them steaks (unintentionally prepared Cajun-style, i.e. blackened), twice-baked potatoes (i.e. overcooked) and a pasta salad (which wasn’t all that bad). Because I have such nice friends, they ate every last bit and declared it delicious. I’m hoping no one suffers from food-poisoning